I come from a loving family made up of my parents, four brothers, two sister in-laws, six nieces, and three nephews! We are a close-knit group who love spending time together, particularly while getting to watch Toronto Raptors basketball games.

My relationship with Jesus began at a young age. Church and God were always part of my life, though in varying degrees. My first personal encounter with God happened at a Steubenville Youth Conference that my father, brothers and I attended. Near the end of the conference I was invited, along with the hundreds of other young people, to walk up front and invite Christ into my life in a way I never had before. I clenched my fists, gritted my teeth, and waited for the thunder and lightning to hit me. To my surprise, I didn’t feel anything special while standing up front. Just as I reached my seat that all changed. I had finally stopped clenching and had let my guard down, and that was when the Lord moved in my heart. The Spirit entered my heart, I had an encounter with the Living God, and in that moment I KNEW that I was loved. So deeply, and unconditionally loved. The thing that is most exciting about my own personal faith is the renewed encounter with God’s love for me, and His living sign of His love for us; Jesus Christ. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son..” (John 3:16)

With CCO, I am a full-time campus missionary, and Team Leader for the University of British Columbia. I am entering my second year in this ministry and I am very excited to see what God has planned.

To date, the highlight of my role as a campus missionary has been working with a young student leader, and working closely with him to prepare his personal testimony of faith after journeying with him closely for a while. I got to help him through the process, and I got to be in the front row as he shared his testimony to 300 university students. It was a moment of great joy to see him succeed in a tremendous way. What was even more exciting was talking to a number of students after and hearing how his personal story reached each of them in a very powerful way – but, each for different reasons. It was amazing to take part in it, and see how God could use this young man’s journey to reach so many people, and to see a young man take a huge step in his own personal leadership journey. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

One of the ways that I have seen many of the young men I worked with this year impacted is through our monthly Eucharistic Adoration events, the Summit. My students have been enriched in multiple ways through this event. They have got to praise God through praise and worship music, encounter Christ in a personal and powerful way in the Blessed Sacrament, and one of the most powerful is through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Being a staff member has helped me grow in many ways. I have grown tremendously in my comfort and boldness in sharing my faith with other people, and do so in a clear and understandable way. The training that CCO offers to us has also helped me grow in so many ways as a young leader, and young professional as well. The biggest and most important way that I have grown is my personal faith and trust in God. We can try all we want, and put all our effort into our ministry, but if the Lord is not blessing it then it will go fruitless. Even the process of support raising my salary has been a process of incredible stretching in my trust in God, and my patience in living based on His timeline and not my own.

ONGOING PRAYER REQUESTS

Pray for me, all of the students I minister to, and our ongoing encounter with Jesus Christ.